e-safety in school

Children at Ferring use the Internet on a regular basis as part of their learning. Technology enhances learning and at Ferring we want to ensure that pupils get the most from it, by encouraging responsible online behaviour.

In school we use a filtering system to prevent children accessing inappropriate sites. We also have 'e-safety' activities to remind children of the importance of keeping themselves safe online. E-safety issues are embedded within the Computing curriculum and every year group acknowledges and encourages safe and sensible use of the internet and new technologies.

We took part in ‘Safer Internet Day’ in February and all the classes enjoyed activities which raised awareness of e-safety.

At home, sometimes children can be given unsupervised access to the Internet. This, potentially, allows them to access all kinds of society (both good and bad) and bring them virtually into their homes.

***REMEMBER***

WhatsApp has just announced a new age limit of 16. Nearly all other Social Media services require users to be at least 13 years of age to access and use their services. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat. YouTube requires account holders to be 18, but a 13-year-old can sign up with a parent's permission. The YouTube Terms of Service state that “the YouTube Website is not intended for children under 13”.

Therefore, none of the children at Ferring CE School should be using these forms of social media as a way of communicating with friends. If they follow these guidelines they will avoid other significant worries that can present themselves as a result of misuse of social media.

We have these e-safety posters on display in our classrooms. Why not put one up next to the computer at home and talk about it with your children?

There are a number of web sites available to parents that will help you understand the constantly developing world of technology and in particular how to keep your children safe on line. Below are some links to web sites we know can offer great advice on how to protect your children on line so that they can enjoy the opportunities that modern technology allows them in a safe and secure way. The e-safety of your children is everybody's responsibility.

There is also a useful guide to keeping your children safe online produced by the West Sussex Safeguarding Children Board. Click HERE to view the guide.

Safer Internet Day 2018

All the children in the school took part in Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 6th February 2018. They enjoyed a variety of different activities focusing on the theme for SID 2018 which was 'Create, Connect and share Respect: A better Internet starts with you'. One of the activities involved the children drawing or writing a pledge on a jigsaw piece about how they will contribute to making the internet a happier, safer place. As a school we built the jigsaw to show our commitment to e-safety and sensible use of the internet. You can enjoy a short film of the creation of the jigsaw below.

Year 5 E-safety Website

As part of the Year 5 Computing Curriculum in 2016 Spain class spent the Summer term developing their own website. The class became the 'E-Safe Tips 4 Kids' company and the children formed different departments. Each department specialised in a different area of online and e-safety issues. They carried out research and put together information they though would be valuable to other children and their families. With Mr Ryan overseeing things as Managing Director they inputted their research on the website, designed the layout, links, colours and text to present the information in an engaging and interesting way. They worked extremely hard on the project and should be very proud of what they produced. Please follow the link below to check out and enjoy their work.